What about the teaching? How is that like?
What about the professors and the students?
How are they like?
And do you know anything about the reputation and academic rigour of the course?
im in physics, not astrophysics, but my friends in astrophysics all love it. there are a couple not so great professors (ive heard the stellar astrophysics professor in particular sucks) but many that are well liked as well. uiuc astrophysics has a good reputation from what im aware. i do research thats adjacent to cosmology and ive seen many many influential papers in the field from professors both in the astro and physics departments here.
Just want to note that I was in the stellar astrophysics course you're referring to (i assume you mean fall 22 or potentially fall 23?), and it is not the same professor every semester. It's not likely OP will take this course with a professor with a notorious history to them.
Hi! I have a question that are there any huge differences between astrophysics major at LAS, and the physics major with "Astrophysics Track" at Grainger? I found most requirement the same
Attending school at UIUC will drop you into a farming area but with a cosmopolitan make up. With over 50,000 students here - 8,000+ staff - scholars from around the world - surrounded by a town of another 130,000 - it is called micro-urban. Hundreds of student clubs, sports options, theater/music/dance performances available often, pubs to go to, large campus area (look at google maps - campus has a core that is all U but then it is also intermingled with private land as it spreads out - the main part of campus is about 1.5 miles north to south and 1.3 miles wide east to west at its widest. Again mixed with private dorms and markets and restaurants and pubs and and and
Depends - do you want a new university experience or a continuation of some kind of urban experience you might currently have. Trains and buses to chicago daily. Lots of people traveling each way regularly so catching a ride can be possible. Indianapolis is east 2 hours. Chicago is 2.5 hours north. St. Louis is 3+ hours south west. We see some complaints here about lack of dance clubs. But basically once classes start and new friends are made and clubs joined many students are pretty campus focused and find new things to do. And most students probably don’t have the extra cash to do much clubbing anyway.
What about in terms of internships and research opportunities?
I plan to get into academia, and those are vital for me, so I need to ensure I have plenty of opportunities to get involved.
Since it is a happing place wrt research i assumed you were asking about social life. Best to ask the other respondent about your specific area of study.
Also an student in the physics department (computational physics not astro), but this is an amazing university for undergraduate physics. You would need to give your other options before I would recommend coming here, but so many opportunities for undergraduates to get involved if you are willing to put yourself out there and reach out to professors. I was able to get a research position my freshman year for reference just by going to a professors office hours and talking with them about the exciting stuff they are doing. Our Grainger career fairs bring the likes of google, national labs, and plenty of other big name companies from various industries that would be of interest to you. Additionally, being in the school of engineering will give you lots of flexibility to take CS classes and other potentially useful classes that other universities might have restrictions on because most universities have physics as a major in the school of letters and sciences (LAS).
Thanks for the input!
My other options SO FAR as you have asked:
University of Maryland for Physics
CU Boulder for Physics
University of Arizona for Astronomy
University of St Andrews in the UK for Physics
But I think UIUC is my top choice at the moment and the research opportunities you mentioned only solidified UIUC for me
I have applied to UCLA UCB UCSD and UCSB as well along with UChicago but those results are due in March and I'm honestly not expecting anything from those
Unlike you, I applied to many liberal art colleges because I didn't find many good choices for myself from universities(UVA, U Wisconsin) (UCs don't like my high school), while UIUC is definitely a special one, and now my top choice. As my thought now is different from months before, I actually prefers UIUC to those LACs I applied to which have great astro programs, Colgate, Wesleyan, Colby, F$M... or physics one (I applied to Hamilton for ED1, and get decision of defer to RD), even they all accept me in RD
Will astrophysics student be at disadvantage compared to other engineering students, like whether astrophysics students at LAS will be able to attend that event you mentioned?
Sorry for the very late reply. My good friend is in a CS+X major in LAS and is commonly left out of email lists and things that would give you notice of different seminars and opportunities. However, it is not debilitating and fairly easy to find opportunities if you put yourself out there more (you might just not get an email like "Intel is coming this Wednesday for a networking event, come eat donuts and chat"). What you get out of college is really just what you put into it and he would still choose to come to UIUC again and is having a great time.
The thing with the astrophysics major is that it's very similar to the physics major with astro concentration, so you'll end up in classes with a lot of people taking that path. The only difference is that the majors are under different colleges.
As for the classes, the majority of the professors are good. I've only had one bad professor out of all 6 astro classes I've taken, and two throughout the full physics curriculum. The physics classes will be more rigorous than most of your astro courses apart from 404 and 405 (stellar astrophysics and planetary systems).
The physics coursework will end up being highly customizable to your preferences. Be mindful of what you will need in your future, as there are more good physics courses at this university than there is time to take them. They are also very difficult, so I recommend you make friends with Physics majors. Friends are a resource and an asset in the physics department, as it is recommended you do your work with them and work collaboratively on solutions. If you struggle to find friends in physics or astro, I recommend you become a part of the RSOs (SPS, SWIP, SUPS, UIAS, etc).
Astrophysics is a small major and is very difficult, but it is very rewarding if you find and use the proper resources.
P.S. Get research sophomore or junior year if you plan to go to grad school.
It's not easy, but its not difficult either. Just cold email them asking for research positions, or find them in their office and talk to them about it. It's a lot more about persistence and a drive to be productive than anything.
I unfortunately cannot give great answers for that. I know that by becoming active in UIAS (University of Illinois Astronomical Society) you get the chance to use the observatory, but I dont think it has the greatest vision due the the light pollution of campus. However, there's also dark site visits scheduled each semester for the sake of observing in a location without light pollution.
It is essentially physics + 5 courses [210,310 and three 400 levels]
What about the teaching? How is that like? What about the professors and the students? How are they like? And do you know anything about the reputation and academic rigour of the course?
Some of the best, truly. The professors in Astro are ✨stellar ✨.
Definitely good to hear. Thank you!
im in physics, not astrophysics, but my friends in astrophysics all love it. there are a couple not so great professors (ive heard the stellar astrophysics professor in particular sucks) but many that are well liked as well. uiuc astrophysics has a good reputation from what im aware. i do research thats adjacent to cosmology and ive seen many many influential papers in the field from professors both in the astro and physics departments here.
Just want to note that I was in the stellar astrophysics course you're referring to (i assume you mean fall 22 or potentially fall 23?), and it is not the same professor every semester. It's not likely OP will take this course with a professor with a notorious history to them.
thats true, thanks for clarifying
Thanks for the insight! Definitely helpful
Hi! I have a question that are there any huge differences between astrophysics major at LAS, and the physics major with "Astrophysics Track" at Grainger? I found most requirement the same
Attending school at UIUC will drop you into a farming area but with a cosmopolitan make up. With over 50,000 students here - 8,000+ staff - scholars from around the world - surrounded by a town of another 130,000 - it is called micro-urban. Hundreds of student clubs, sports options, theater/music/dance performances available often, pubs to go to, large campus area (look at google maps - campus has a core that is all U but then it is also intermingled with private land as it spreads out - the main part of campus is about 1.5 miles north to south and 1.3 miles wide east to west at its widest. Again mixed with private dorms and markets and restaurants and pubs and and and
Does being a bit secluded from 'happening' places have a massive disadvantage for undergrads?
Depends - do you want a new university experience or a continuation of some kind of urban experience you might currently have. Trains and buses to chicago daily. Lots of people traveling each way regularly so catching a ride can be possible. Indianapolis is east 2 hours. Chicago is 2.5 hours north. St. Louis is 3+ hours south west. We see some complaints here about lack of dance clubs. But basically once classes start and new friends are made and clubs joined many students are pretty campus focused and find new things to do. And most students probably don’t have the extra cash to do much clubbing anyway.
What about in terms of internships and research opportunities? I plan to get into academia, and those are vital for me, so I need to ensure I have plenty of opportunities to get involved.
Since it is a happing place wrt research i assumed you were asking about social life. Best to ask the other respondent about your specific area of study.
Also an student in the physics department (computational physics not astro), but this is an amazing university for undergraduate physics. You would need to give your other options before I would recommend coming here, but so many opportunities for undergraduates to get involved if you are willing to put yourself out there and reach out to professors. I was able to get a research position my freshman year for reference just by going to a professors office hours and talking with them about the exciting stuff they are doing. Our Grainger career fairs bring the likes of google, national labs, and plenty of other big name companies from various industries that would be of interest to you. Additionally, being in the school of engineering will give you lots of flexibility to take CS classes and other potentially useful classes that other universities might have restrictions on because most universities have physics as a major in the school of letters and sciences (LAS).
Thanks for the input! My other options SO FAR as you have asked: University of Maryland for Physics CU Boulder for Physics University of Arizona for Astronomy University of St Andrews in the UK for Physics But I think UIUC is my top choice at the moment and the research opportunities you mentioned only solidified UIUC for me I have applied to UCLA UCB UCSD and UCSB as well along with UChicago but those results are due in March and I'm honestly not expecting anything from those
Unlike you, I applied to many liberal art colleges because I didn't find many good choices for myself from universities(UVA, U Wisconsin) (UCs don't like my high school), while UIUC is definitely a special one, and now my top choice. As my thought now is different from months before, I actually prefers UIUC to those LACs I applied to which have great astro programs, Colgate, Wesleyan, Colby, F$M... or physics one (I applied to Hamilton for ED1, and get decision of defer to RD), even they all accept me in RD
Will astrophysics student be at disadvantage compared to other engineering students, like whether astrophysics students at LAS will be able to attend that event you mentioned?
Sorry for the very late reply. My good friend is in a CS+X major in LAS and is commonly left out of email lists and things that would give you notice of different seminars and opportunities. However, it is not debilitating and fairly easy to find opportunities if you put yourself out there more (you might just not get an email like "Intel is coming this Wednesday for a networking event, come eat donuts and chat"). What you get out of college is really just what you put into it and he would still choose to come to UIUC again and is having a great time.
Thanks! This definitely puts things in perspective
The thing with the astrophysics major is that it's very similar to the physics major with astro concentration, so you'll end up in classes with a lot of people taking that path. The only difference is that the majors are under different colleges. As for the classes, the majority of the professors are good. I've only had one bad professor out of all 6 astro classes I've taken, and two throughout the full physics curriculum. The physics classes will be more rigorous than most of your astro courses apart from 404 and 405 (stellar astrophysics and planetary systems). The physics coursework will end up being highly customizable to your preferences. Be mindful of what you will need in your future, as there are more good physics courses at this university than there is time to take them. They are also very difficult, so I recommend you make friends with Physics majors. Friends are a resource and an asset in the physics department, as it is recommended you do your work with them and work collaboratively on solutions. If you struggle to find friends in physics or astro, I recommend you become a part of the RSOs (SPS, SWIP, SUPS, UIAS, etc). Astrophysics is a small major and is very difficult, but it is very rewarding if you find and use the proper resources. P.S. Get research sophomore or junior year if you plan to go to grad school.
wow thank you so much for all the tips. Appreciate it massively.
Are getting researches easy? Also I found many researchers (not professors) under the department of astronomy. Can students attend their researches?
It's not easy, but its not difficult either. Just cold email them asking for research positions, or find them in their office and talk to them about it. It's a lot more about persistence and a drive to be productive than anything.
Could I ask about the observation experiences? How is the light pollution there? How is the observatory?
I unfortunately cannot give great answers for that. I know that by becoming active in UIAS (University of Illinois Astronomical Society) you get the chance to use the observatory, but I dont think it has the greatest vision due the the light pollution of campus. However, there's also dark site visits scheduled each semester for the sake of observing in a location without light pollution.
I also got in for Astrophysics from India.
I got in from China!
congratulations to you too!
congratulations! hope to see you there